Dumontis

Building Autonomy in Continual Improvement

Leader Standard Work

5S is a well-known method. It is used in creating, standardizing and maintaining a well-organized workplace. The 5S’s thereby refer to the five steps in the method, i.e., sort out, set in order (or: straighten), shine (or: sweep), standardize and sustain (or: self-discipline). But sometimes you see discussions about whether it should be 3S, 4S, 5S or even 6S. A post about the number of S’s and what it may tell you.(more…)

In my work with companies trying to transform into a Lean company, it continues to strike me how difficult they find it to sustain, or anchor, improvements in their daily work habits. The improvements that were suggested are well-meant, on-target, but still, they don’t seem to stick. I often see that the teams developing the suggestions as well as the organization as a whole are not always conscious of the context required in which change can truly root. Because of this, improved standards are quickly compromised, the organization returns to its previous habits and, as a result, performance doesn’t improve. It may even lead to increased skepticism towards future initiatives making it increasingly difficult to improve. What can organizations do about this? When talking about anchoring change, it is maybe interesting to try and learn from the captains and mates that actually anchor ships: six lessons from the sea.(more…)

Kanban implementations are often disappointing and short lived. Companies are promised better service, lower inventories and level demand. But more often the system is abandoned after a short period as it has turned the shop floor into chaos… What went wrong?(more…)

Over the last year I have worked with a client on introducing, developing and securing Lean Management on various locations in the Netherlands and abroad. Recently, a more formal evaluation with top management and the management of the involved locations took place. It’s always interesting then, to hear how Lean Management is actually experienced across an organization. Through this blog post I thought it would be nice to share some of these experiences with my readers. Lean Management is sometimes interpreted as only a technique, although I think that in the end it involves a complete turnaround in the way people think and act with consequences for the associates, managers, the mutual relations and collaboration, processes and problem-solving, performance and customers.(more…)